After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

Having received that money, Lin Da's purse was much fuller.

He came to the hall with a clear mind and met up with his team members.

"Team leader, what were you doing in the private room?"

Monica approached, pursing her lips and wearing a sulky, bun-like face.

"We were just discussing the selling price of the equipment," Lin Da said with a chuckle, bending over to pet Monica's head.

But this time, Monica didn't feel happy about it, hanging her head like a little jar of vinegar and muttering, "Team leader is a big pervert...!"

Lin Da's head popped up a question mark, confused as he glanced towards Kafni, who was lounging on the couch, freeloaders the shop's fruit plate.

Could it be that this guy had led Monica astray?

...

It was already three in the afternoon when they left Chilang Commerce.

Lin Da and the others had bought many things, each carrying large and small bags. Lin Da's main haul consisted of various ingredients rich in magic power, not only delicious but also beneficial for cultivation and considered noble ingredients.

A pound of broccoli from the Great Mystery Continent was priced at two gold coins, which was roughly equivalent to 2000 RMB per pound in his previous life.

Before entering the World Tree Secret Realm, Lin Da would never have afforded such expensive ingredients.

Apart from vegetables, there was also a lot of fresh wild magical creature meat, which was beneficial for adventurers' cultivation.

Kafni's purchases were more varied, ranging from snacks and comic books to underwear, dresses, toothbrushes, cups, and other household items... each endorsed by a famous adventure team.

The piece housed in a beautiful gift box, a purple ribboned underwear, from the brand 'Dreamland', had a magic circle that automatically cleaned all sorts of dirt.

It was said that in emergency battles, even if one urinated, there was no need to worry about it affecting one's movement, as the magic circle would quickly evaporate the filth—but Lin Da suspected that Kafni's skills were quite diverse, as he was occasionally woken up in the middle of the night.

Monica, being a well-behaved member, didn't get up to those antics. This Big Lolita bought simple, practical items—a few new magic puppets, a home delivery freezer filled to the brim with ice cream.

The total cost of all these items was 4500 gold coins.

Regarding equipment, Lin Da had heard that a large auction would be held in a few days. Items that made it to the auction were generally of exceptional quality, and there might even be equipment with rare attributes like "spell penetration".

Lin Da also needed to purchase a space ring so that he wouldn't have to carry a big bag every time he went into the World Tree.

The three walked out of the shop in a cheerful mood.

People were coming and going around them; many adventure teams, having returned from the World Tree, headed here to sell their unneeded items in bulk.

Some adventure team members were chatting and laughing arm in arm. Yet others had a morose and heavy atmosphere that was hard to ignore.

Lin Da noticed such a glaring sight: a male adventurer in his thirties with golden short hair. He was slumped against a glass wall of the shop, looking dejected, sitting like a vagrant.

His legs weakly spread open, a broken sword propped between them, his expression dull, he weakly held a savings card in his hand, staring blankly at himself.

"Finch?"

Lin Da recognized the adventurer's identity.

Back when he was still with Snow Goose, he had briefly met Finch. On the fifth layer of the Great Mystery Continent, their two adventure teams had joined forces to fight against a 'Wilderness Guardian', commonly known as a regional boss level magical creature.

But Finch's team had less potential, and while Snow Goose had reached the eighth layer, they had still not broken through the sixth.

At that time, as a team leader, Finch had even provoked Lia, betting on who would enter the sixth layer first.

More than a year had passed, and Lin Da had forgotten about Finch, and Lia had completely forgotten him.

Adventurers meet many people during their journeys, but except for teammates, most others are just passersby.

"Lin Da, I heard you left the team."

Finch's golden hair looked like wilted wildgrass, his face weathered. He remained seated, showing no intention to stand, and waved to Lin Da.

"Uh—what's happened to you?" Lin Da hesitated for a moment before he and his team members approached.

Finch chuckled and said, "Buying such things, it seems you've had a good haul. Me? Haha... the 'Hunter Adventure Team' disbanded today."

"Disbanded? Why, I thought you all got along well," Lin Da began, but suddenly realizing something, his face darkened, "Sorry."

"No need—everyone has their day, everyone."

Finch had never believed that such a thing could happen to him, but when it actually did, he believed it, viewing every adventure team with a pessimistic attitude. Perhaps that was the only way he could feel somewhat better.

Clearly, Finch's adventure team had been forced to disband.

He was the only member left in his team.

"The sixth floor was really tricky; had I known, I would have stayed on the fifth floor all my life."

Finch gave a sorrowful chuckle, pointing at the two girls from the Phoenix Tail Flower: "You must protect them well, don't make my mistakes!"

Lin Da nodded.

To him, Finch was ultimately a passerby. However, this incident made him realize once again that merely covering three floors in a strategy broadcast was far from sufficient.

Most adventurers were not geniuses like Lia and Aiko, who could use their talent to escape danger. Most adventurers were just ordinary beings, the background wildflowers and rocks in the game.

And transported to another world, these backgrounds all turned into real people, each with their own dreams and ambitions, truly living in this world.

If the Phoenix Tail Flower adventure team's strategies could help those people, Lin Da wouldn't mind making an effort.

He would forge ahead, clearing thorns and paving a smooth and broad road for ordinary adventurers.

Perhaps it was because he could do such things that he was chosen to be the hero in a mysterious way.

For the first time, Lin Da felt the heavy weight of the words 'saving the world.'

...

After resting for a while, Finch, leaning on his sword, headed to the Adventurer's Guild with a faltering gait.

As the leader of the Hunter Adventure Team, Finch still had one thing left undone: he needed to unregister his team members' information.

Arriving at the guild hall, Finch found it unusually crowded today, with everyone gathered around a big screen.

That screen usually showed free replays of strategy broadcasts from lower floors, but since it was free, the levels certainly weren't high.

As an adventurer who had reached the fifth floor, Finch had little interest in lower floors.

However, the voice coming from the screen was very familiar, making him stop.

Intending to take a casual glance, Finch paused but became deeply engrossed in the images on the screen.

Like a brown bear savoring honey, he was absorbed, half an hour passing unnoticed.

It was only when that fearsome Goblin Chieftain fell and cheers from surrounding adventurers erupted,

that Finch, caught up in the thrilling battle, snapped back to reality.

Finch's first thought wasn't about how strong Phoenix Tail Flower was, or how high Lin Da's healing was. Lin Da claimed in the screen that Phoenix Tail Flower would continue to make strategies.

Lin Da's former team, Snow Goose, had been to the eighth floor, which meant that this strategy could reach at least the eighth floor...

Finch couldn't help but think, if he had entered the sixth floor a few months later, could he have seen the live strategy broadcast of Phoenix Tail Flower?

Could he have avoided his teammates' deaths?

Finch's face changed gradually, and then he became somewhat frantic, despairing! At this moment, he desperately wished for the skill named 'Rebirth' from comic books, for another chance to prevent his teammates' deaths!

Like Finch, there were actually many people with similar thoughts, most of whom had similar experiences: losing teammates in the World Tree due to various accidents.

If they had entered later, after seeing this strategy, they would enter the World Tree Secret Realm, and the outcome would be vastly different.

Some adventurers, reminded of their deceased teammates, mourned silently. Meanwhile, novices who had not yet entered the World Tree secretly felt relieved.

They bought Magic Recording Devices, recorded the strategy, and went back to watch it repeatedly.